Immense gains are being made by independent petrol retailers across Africa, presenting an enormous challenge to franchise operators for oil giants which have monopolised the continent’s markets for decades. As Africa continues its economic revival, so emerging wealthy individuals have turned their attention to independent businesses that are able compete with established brands on the national level – the retail petrol industry being no exception. Updated 5 Years ago

Following the cue of Egypt and Cameroon, Ghana have announced a partial removal of fuel subsidies, the third African Country to do so in a month. The Government, on Sunday, bowed to pressure from the International Monetary Fund and ratings agencies to cut spending and restore fiscal stability by re-removing a subsidy they re-introduced just three months ago. Government officials say cutting subsidy was the only way to get its economy back on shape. Updated 5 Years ago

Africa’s biggest food retailer, Shoprite, on Monday said the group’s turnover for the 12 months to June had surged 10.5 percent to R102.2 billion ($9.5 billion). However, the continued pressure on consumers’ disposable income reflected in the slow-down in sales in its South African supermarket division, the largest division in the group, which grew sales by only 8.7 percent. Updated 5 Years ago

The United States signed an agreement with Qatar on Monday to sell the Gulf Arab ally Apache attack helicopters and Patriot and Javelin air-defense systems valued at $11 billion. "Today's signing ceremony underscores the strong partnership between the United States and Qatar in the area of security and defense and will help improve our bilateral cooperation across a range of military operations," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement. Updated 5 Years ago

The administration of President Hassan Rouhani has unveiled a package of plans which can bring about a notable growth in the national economy. The package, which was unveiled on Monday, highlights supporting the leading domestic economic enterprises, boosting industrial and service exports, and promoting tourism as the initial factors which can help the national economy come out of recession. Updated 5 Years ago

The costly voyage to space has drawn attention from wealthy young people, for whom tickets have been a hot item online, but the cost of the trips and the safety of participants need more supervision from authorities, one expert says. A man from Zhejiang province booked a trip to space from an online travel agency and gave the full payment, about 630,000 yuan ($101,500), in June. After paying for the costly space voyage, he went to travel in South Africa. Updated 5 Years ago

Premier Li Keqiang vowed on Monday to broaden private firms' market access and cut redundant administrative approvals amid "persistent downward pressure". "We will further open the door for private capital. We will give private firms more investment options and a bigger stage on which the creativity of all 1.3 billion Chinese people can be fully unleashed," Li told a group of executives from State-owned and private enterprises. Updated 5 Years ago

China's economic cooperation with Latin America is accelerating due to the country's expanding domestic demand and the region's economic restructuring, according to the Ministry of Commerce. "Latin America is a vibrant and promising market. China and Latin America highly complement each other economically," a ministry official said. Updated 5 Years ago

Three Israeli Jews arrested for the murder of a Palestinian teenager have confessed to abducting him and burning him alive, officials said on Monday, an incident that helped trigger a week of Israeli-Hamas fighting around the Gaza strip. Easing a court gag order on the case, Israel said the suspects, two of them minors, had told interrogators that in killing Mohammed Abu Khudair they sought revenge for the murder of three Jewish seminary students in the occupied West Bank last month. Updated 5 Years ago

US stocks ended higher today, with the Dow Jones industrial average hitting an intraday record, lifted by Citigroup's better-than-expected earnings and more deals in the healthcare space. A flurry of mergers and acquisitions activity in the healthcare sector gave investors some confirmation that the US stock market is still attractive. Shire Plc, which develops and sells drugs to treat rare diseases, succumbed to an increased takeover offer of 31 billion pounds($53 billion) from AbbVie Inc on Monday. Updated 5 Years ago